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Juneau Domed Stadium
Juneau Domed Stadium is the working title of a proposed enclosed minor league baseball stadium to be built in Juneau, Alaska which would become home to an expansion team in one of three different Minor League Baseball leagues as well as the new baseball and softball programs of the Alaska Southeast Humpback Whales of the Northern Pacific Athletic Conference (NorPac). The stadium would hold approximately 5,000 fans and would cost an estimated $22 million. There is no current timeline set for groundbreaking. History Initial planning The proposal for a domed baseball stadium was first floated in 2010 to compliment the plans to construct a football stadium off of North Douglas Highway. The baseball stadium would have occupied over 14 acres of land off of Glacier Highway near Juneau International Airport. Plans were drawn and construction was slated to begin in the summer of 2011 before nearby business owners expressed their displeasure with the idea of a baseball stadium being constructed so the plans were scrapped. Douglas Island location In 2013, three years after abandoning plans for the original ballpark, the city began to explore the possibility of constructing a domed stadium on five acres of land across the street from Savikko Park. However, due to the odd shape of the property and that construction would require the destruction of a public boat launch and the offices of Juneau Parks Maintenance, the plans were quickly scrapped. College stadium proposal In April 2016, the University of Alaska Southeast announced plans for a joint-use stadium that would be home to a new baseball program for the school as well as a Minor League Baseball team. The school proposed the indoor stadium be built on campus and would be paid for by new student fees and would not rely on any state funds or tax dollars. The facility would be built near the school's Rec Center and would be built partially underground to avoid drastic changes to the hillside. Students are expected to vote on the stadium in May and if at least 52% of respondants vote in favor of the venue, it will be sent to the university board to be included in the 2016-17 budget. On May 3, 2016 UAS students voted against the indoor stadium with 74% voting against the proposal and only 26% in favor. The school said they would hope to reintroduce the proposal within the next five years to students, likely after some reworking of the stadium design. In February 2018 surveys were sent out to UAS students about the proposed stadium. Questions included the student's support of the stadium, options to improve the facility, and funding options. In April the survey results were posted online and it was determined that 44% of students approved of building an indoor baseball facility, however 81% of those students disapproved of using student fees to fund construction. 56% of all respondants said they would like the proposal more if football and basketball were added to the facility, moving all sports to campus. Tenants University of Alaska Southeast The University of Alaska Southeast would be the main tenants of the new stadium and would house their new baseball and softball programs. The school has been interested in offering baseball and softball for a few years now and it is believed a domed stadium is the best bet for these programs to get off the ground. Minor League Baseball The end goal of building a domed stadium is to bring Minor League Baseball to Juneau and the state of Alaska as a whole. As of July 2013, the Alaska Baseball League, a summer collegiate baseball league has expressed interest in expanding to Juneau but the city has been postponing accepting a franchise until an agreement can be reached on the dome. Both the Pioneer League (Rookie classification) and Northwest League (Class-A Short Season) have expressed interest in expanding to Juneau provided that a stadium is in place beforehand.